1. (a) Removal criteria.

   1. (1) An adult offender is defined as a person age eighteen (18) years or older at the time of the act or omission that resulted in a true finding of child maltreatment.

   2. (2) An adult offender may request his or her name be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry when:

      1. (A) The individual has not had a subsequent true report of this type or type involving the specified injury characteristic or other detail for one (1) year; and
      2. (B) More than one (1) year has passed since the adult offender’s name was placed on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.

   3. (3) However, the adult offender may not request removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry if any of the following apply:

      1. (A) The adult offender was placed into the Child Maltreatment Central Registry for any type of child maltreatment that resulted in a child fatality as a direct result of the offender’s act or omission;
      2. (B) The adult offender is still involved in an open protective services or foster care case for the type of maltreatment for which he or she was placed into the Child Maltreatment Central Registry; or
      3. (C) The adult offender was placed into the Child Maltreatment Central Registry for any of the child maltreatment type or types involving any of the injury characteristics or details listed below and his or her parental rights were subsequently terminated either voluntarily or involuntarily:

2. (i) Abuse with deadly weapon;

   1. (ii) Bone fractures;

      1. (iii) Brain damage/skull fracture;

         1. (iv) Burns/scalding;
         2. (v) Immersion;
         3. (vi) Inadequate supervision, children less than six (6) years of age;
         4. (vii) Interfering with a child’s breathing;
         5. (viii) Internal injuries;
         6. (ix) Malnutrition;
         7. (x) Oral sex;
         8. (xi) Poison/noxious substances;
         9. (xii) Presence of illegal substance in child or its mother at time of birth resulting from mother’s knowing use of the substance;
         10. (xiii) Sexual exploitation;
         11. (xiv) Sexual penetration;
         12. (xv) Shaking a child age three (3) years of age or younger;
         13. (xvi) Striking a child with a closed fist;
         14. (xvii) Subdural hematoma; and (xviii) Suffocation.

   2. (4)

      1. (A) Arkansas Code § 12-18-908 allows the types of maltreatment that may be considered for removal to be set at the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Human Services.
      2. (B) However, these can only be changed through normal promulgation after a special review by the House Interim Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth, Arkansas Code § 12-18-908.

   3. (5) Finally, per Arkansas Code § 12-18-908, an adult offender shall permanently remain on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry if the:

      1. (A) Adult offender is convicted of a criminal offense for an act or omission that constitutes child maltreatment and for which the adult offender is named in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry regardless of any subsequent expungement of the offense from the adult offender’s criminal record;
      2. (B) Adult offender’s conviction for the criminal offense as described in subdivision (a)(5)(A) of this section, above, has not been reversed or vacated; and
      3. (C) Adult offender’s name is placed in the registry for severe maltreatment.

3. (b) Application format for an adult offender.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) An application for name removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry shall conform to the following.

      2. (B) The adult offender will submit his or her request to the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services via the CFS-328-A: Request for Name Removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry by Adult Offender and shall also submit:

         1. (i) A personal letter describing:
4. (a) (a) The offender’s reason for the removal request;

5. (b) (b) The events and circumstances surrounding the child maltreatment finding;

   1. (c) (c) The offender’s rehabilitation; and

      1. (d) (d) Why the offender does not pose a risk of maltreatment to vulnerable populations, including without limitation, children, the elderly, persons with a disability, and persons with a mental health illness;

         1. (ii) Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry results free from a true finding of the same maltreatment type for the preceding year;
         2. (iii) Child Maltreatment Registry results from the offender’s current state of residence and/or any state in which the offender has resided in the preceding year free from a true finding of the same maltreatment type for the preceding year;
         3. (iv) Arkansas Crime Information Center background check results free from child maltreatment-related offense for the preceding one (1) year;
         4. (v) State background check results from the offender’s current state of residence and/or any state in which the offender has resided in the preceding year free from child maltreatment-related offense for the preceding one (1) year;
         5. (vi) Description and documentation (e.g., court records, letter from the adult offender’s attorney, probation officer, or prosecuting attorney) of any current pending criminal charges, if applicable; and
         6. (vii) Evidence of the offender’s rehabilitation, including, but not limited to:

6. (a)

   1. (1) (a)(1) Documentation proving completion of treatment, remediation, or rehabilitation programs as related to the specific offense if applicable.

   2. (2) (2) For removal requests related to sexual abuse, proof of rehabilitation must include documentation from a licensed mental health professional that:

      1. (A) (A) States that the requestor has participated in therapy with the licensed mental health professional to address the issues related to the sexual abuse offense;
      2. (B) (B) States total length of time the requestor has participated in therapy with the licensed mental health professional to address the issues related to the sexual abuse offense and the frequency of therapy sessions during that period of time;
      3. (C) (C) Indicates whether a sex offender-specific assessment was conducted during the therapy period (e.g., the Vermont Assessment of Sex Offender Risk (VASOR), Clarke Sex History Questionnaire for Males—Revised, Hare Psychotherapy Scale) (note: the use of such an assessment is not necessarily a requirement for removal but the presence or absence of such an assessment will be considered); and
      4. (D) (D) Provides the licensed mental health professional’s assessment of the requestor’s participation during the therapy period; and

7. (b)

   1. (1) (b)(1) One (1) to three (3) letters of reference from professionals (not to include Division of Children and Family Services employees), employers, spiritual counselors, friends, or family describing the offender’s rehabilitation and whether the offender poses a risk of maltreatment to vulnerable populations, including without limitation, children, the elderly, persons with a disability, and persons with a mental health illness.
   2. (2) (2) No more than one (1) letter of reference can be submitted from a family member.

   3. (2) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry Review Team may select additional, non-child maltreatment-related offenses which prevent name removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.

      1. (c) Determination of name removal request by an adult offender.

   4. (1)

      1. (A) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry Review Team will consider requests for removal of names from the registry.

      2. (B) In determining whether or not to remove an offender from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry the review team shall consider any relevant evidence, which may include, but is not limited to the following:

         1. (i) The circumstances surrounding the maltreatment;
         2. (ii) The seriousness of the harm caused by the maltreatment to the child or children;
         3. (iii) The probability of the offender engaging in future maltreatment;
         4. (iv) Evidence of the offender’s completion of training, rehabilitation, and efforts to learn effective strategies to care for children; and
         5. (v) Any other information that is relevant to the specific offense.
   5. (2) If the child maltreatment type is in the removal-by-request category, and the adult offender has not had a subsequent true report of this type for one (1) year and more than one (1) year has passed since the offender’s name was placed on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, he or she will have a right to a review of the case.

   6. (3) If the review team denies the request-for-removal of the name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the review team shall send a denial letter to the adult offender explaining the reason for denial as it relates to:

      1. (A) The circumstances surrounding the maltreatment;
      2. (B) The seriousness of the harm caused by the maltreatment to the child or children;
      3. (C) The probability of the offender engaging in future maltreatment;
      4. (D) Evidence of the offender’s completion of training, rehabilitation, and efforts to learn effective strategies to care for children;
      5. (E) Any pending criminal charges surrounding the maltreatment; and
      6. (F) Any other information that is relevant to the specific offense.

   7. (4)

      1. (A) The adult offender shall wait one (1) year from the date of the request for removal before filing a new petition with the division’s requesting the offender’s name be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.
      2. (B) However, if the review team needs additional information from the adult offender in order to make the determination as to whether to remove his or her name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the review team may request that the adult offender provide the additional information without requiring the adult offender to wait an additional year to file a new petition.
      3. (C) The review team shall inform the adult offender in writing of the specific additional information requested.
      4. (D) The adult offender shall have ten (10) calendar days from the date of the request to submit the requested additional information.
      5. (E) If the request is sent via mail, the adult offender shall be given an additional three (3) calendar days to submit the information.
      6. (F) If the requested information is not submitted within the specified timeframe, then the adult offender shall wait one (1) year from the date of the request to file a new petition requesting his or her name be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.
   8. (5) If the review team denies the request-for-removal of the name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the adult offender may request an administrative hearing within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the division’s decision.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "05/2022"